


CODE: New Moon

by The_Degu



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Blackwatch Era, Dad Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Deadlock Jesse McCree, Dogs, Gabe is a dog person, Gen, In a way??, Lycanthrope Jesse mccree, Minor Injuries, Mistaken Identity, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, Slight Suspense, Swearing, Werewolf Jesse McCree, blood mention, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-23 07:17:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13782507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Degu/pseuds/The_Degu
Summary: Gabriel is a dog person, so when he finds a stray pup at deadlock, he decides that having a dog on base might not be a bad idea.but when that dog turns out to be not quite a  stray mutt, and more like a stray person, he finds himself in a world he thought only existed in fairytales.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wrote these two chapters in a three-hour writing binge so I do not expect them to be good right now, but I also like the concept and I'm really sleep deprived rn so I posted it anyway! have fun!  
> edit: I cleaned it up some, not as bad as I was expecting. so yea

It was a good operation. Blackwatch and Overwatch working together usually did not end up working out this well together. Overwatch got their hero story,  Blackwatch got information that they needed, and the world had one less gang trafficking guns. Overwatch received Minimum losses, just a few scratches and broken bones here and there, and they took deadlock by such a surprise that most of the gangsters gave up even before the fight started. Sure, there some put up a fight and even a few got some shots in before they took the gangsters down, but Gabe would be lying if he said this mission went bad in any major way.

Reyes is making his way through the compound, overseeing his people taking care of their jobs. He smirked as he walked, proud of the mission well done, and the ability of his men. He makes his way to what was probably an office at one time and finds it mostly empty. Except for two of his men crouching and trying to dig out something under the desk.

It is Janson and Swan, a dynamic duo. As well as a pain in Gabe’s ass.

Swan is an older woman or at least older compared to most other Blackwatch agents. She wears her dirty blond hair short, almost buzzed to the scalp, and her tactical gear almost swallows her up. She is a specialist at disarming booby-traps and other things of that kind. Along with being a crackshot with her machine pistol. She is competent, but wilily at times. Overall a good soldier and is useful in a pinch.

Janson is a more of a ‘normal’ recut and works well with computers. He is a lower ranking solder and has a good head on his shoulders. He is competent but has more of the personality of an Overwatch agent then Blackwatch. Lacking the usual the stoic nature in and out of battle that Blackwatch agents require. He is a tank of a man, square shoulders, and jawline almost looks like he could have been in SEP, except for his diminutive stature, with his height only reaching a little over five foot four.

“Janson, Swan” Reyes barks “what are you doing?”

The two turn to Reyes looking like children caught with their hand in a cookie jar. They look at each other trying to see which one will crack first. Finally, Janson steps forward, eyes downcast and says, “there’s a dog,”

Reyes cannot believe it these two. their Blackwatch agents, each has killed and been in dire situations, they are hardened soldiers, and they Dropped their duties for a dog. Reyes runs his hand over his face not knowing what to say. So, instead, he wakes forward, swan and Janson backing away for him.

“don’t hurt him,” Swan says under her breath as Reyes crouches down to look under the desk.

Sure enough, a dog lays curled at the back of the desk eyes wide. Its tail tucked and its body quivering. The thing looked just about as much as a stray as a dog could get. It obviously has mange and is very malnourished, but isn’t small by any means. It is defiantly not full grown, but it is about the size of a border collie even though it still has the proportions of an adolescent dog. It looks to be a German shepherd mix but under the table, but it is hard to see details.

As Gabe reached forward the dog lets out a small growl, a warning, and Gabe knows that the thing is just scared. So he pushes in, and In a split second, the dog snaps at his hand.  Gabe is quick enough so that the dog only grabs the edge of his glove, but the message is clear. 

Gabe sighs and reaches into his pocket, he can feel swan and Janson tense but neither says anything.  He pulls out part of a ration he grabbed for breakfast before the op earlier But didn’t eat. He holds the small piece of peanut butter granola bar for the starving thing, but it doesn’t budge. Gabe holds the food to his own mouth and takes a bite from it and that seems to do the trick.

The dog perks up some ears pointing forward and body language changing slightly. It is still on edge but is more interested in the food then Gabe currently. Gabe throws the small piece of food next to the dog. Where it looks at it suspiciously for a brief moment before downing the small piece in one bite. It licks at the floor where the morsel fell as Gabe takes another piece of granola out of his pocket.

When the dog notices the new piece of food it gives the slightest amount of a tail wag, and a slight whine, as it looks between the food and the man holding it. Gabe takes a few steps back but stays close to the ground as he entices the dog out of its hiding place. The dog’s nose follows the food, followed by its body. It quivers as it hoists itself to a standing position trying to get at the morsel.

As Gabe lures the dog into the open he notices the deep gash in its left hind leg. The wound looks very fresh, as in it is still slightly dripping as he limps on it. Gabe stops once he notices the wound not wanting to aggravate it more than necessary. He places the next morsel on the ground for the dog, who inhales it just as fast as the first one.

“belt” Gabe half whispers to Janson, who gives a slight grumble but doesn’t protest beyond that. The dog is already taking a couscous step forward, even before Gabe has the next treat out of his pocket. This time Gabe keeps the treat in his hand and holds it so that the dog will have to put its head through the belt before it can get it.

The dog assesses the situation; as if trying to figure out the obvious trap, but the promise of more food wins out. It tries to be fast, but again, Gabe is faster. The dog freaks out when the makeshift leash tightens around its neck and tries to run but cannot find any perches on the slick cement floor. The dog only struggles for a moment before giving up and crumpling to the ground, panting heavily. Nor does it make a fuss as Gabe lifts the poor thing off of the ground like it weighs nothing.

Whether it be from blood loss, shock, sheer exhaustion, or a combination of the three the dog seems to completely crumble in Gabe’s arms. Gabe can still feel the thudding of its heart against his own chest as he starts to carry it out of the room.

“Janson, Swan” Gabe orders before he leaves completely, and feels his agents following him out “finish your job”

Janson lets out an honest-to-goodness whine. Then there is a whack as, presumably, swan punches Janson in the shoulder before saying “sure thing sir, sorry for the interruption sir.”

Gabe can hear the disappointment in his soldiers’ voices, so he reassures them “the dog will be at base when you get back… now get back to work”


	2. Chapter 2

Luckily by the time Gabe found the dog, the vast majority of the work clearing up deadlock is finished. So, he doesn’t have to carry the thing around for more than an extra ten minutes or so. As he walks around he can feel the eyes of his men boring into his back, but he does not stop nor explain himself. He is the boss after all.

The only thing he finds himself worrying about is the lack of motion from the dog as he moves about. It just hangs limply in his grasp. He jostles it a few times just to make sure it hasn’t died while he is caring it around, and each time it lifts its head slightly to look around before going limp again.

He loads himself and the dog into one of the Helicarriers that head back to a temporary base, without much trouble.The flight only takes twenty minutes from base to base, and during the time the dog stirs slightly. It tries to climb out of Reyes’s lap but he holds onto the thing tightly not wanting it to get hurt on the turbulent aircraft. Once it realizes that Gabe isn’t going to let it go the dog instead starts trying to go for the pocket Gabe kept the granola in.

To keep it steady Gabe digs the food out and slowly feeds it to the dog. It seems happy enough to take the bites out of Gabe’s hands. While it was desperate earlier now it seems more cautious when taking the food. Gabe has to encourage it to take each bite, making slight encouraging noises each time the dog takes a bite. It has a very gentle mouth, just taking the food between its front teeth before pulling away and munching down on the treat.

Now close up Gabe sees that the dog, while still looking like a German Shepard, also had aspects to it that concern Gabriel slightly. the thought of it being a wolf hybrid crosses his mind, which is very bad news for many reasons. No matter how much they worked the dog, having a hybrid on sight might cause too much trouble. Not to mention how unfair it would be to keep that type of dog secluded in an underground bunker for possibly months on end.

With it up close Gabe could also see the wound on its leg. He couldn’t see it well underneath the rust colored fur and the dog shrinks away whenever he tries touching it, but it seems to have stopped bleeding. Which is a relief, and by the time the aircraft landed the dog seems to be somewhat more comfortable.

Gabe still carries the dog through the temporary camp and to his quarters. Just to lessen the risk of it running off on him. Gabe’s quarters is in an old Overwatch outbuilding, this outpost was not made for this large of a operation. So, most of the lower ranking shoulders stayed in temporary shelters outside, while Gabriel and the other higher-ranking officers stayed in the small base itself. the base looked more or less like an old motel with a large conference room at one end of the large building and is surrounded by at least a hundred tents and awnings. 

The extended team, the close to two hundred extra men, are only going to be there for two more nights.  However, Gabe was due back at base tomorrow. So he needed to figure out this dog situation quickly. 

On his way to his quarters, Gabe picks up a small first aid kit. so that he can tend to the dog’s wounds when he does get back to his quarters but does not stop for anything else. Even with the slight detour, only a handful of extra people see him carrying the dog around. Not that he cared about showing the dog off to the people here. Janson and swan knowing it is only a matter of time before the rumor spreads like wildfire. It is just that he wants to make an official statement and does not want to get his men's hopes up. Especially if the dog turns out too sick or too aggressive to stay with them.

Gabe’s quarters are set up like a hotel room but without a private shower or toilet. Although having the small space to himself is more than enough to take care of the dog.  He debates where to put the mutt. With the only flat surfaces in the room being the small counter next to the sink, the bed, and a small, paper-covered, desk. The bed is an obvious no, he did not want whatever was most likely crawling on the dog’s skin in his bed, and the sink did not have enough room set the dog. So, he settles for pushing the paperwork off of the small desk and setting the dog on it.

The dog looks nervously to Gabe then to the floor. It looks ready to jump off before Gabe gives a gentle ‘no’ and the dog stops immediately. Gabe does not take his eyes off of the dog as he walks to the sink to wet a towel, and the dog thankfully does not jump off of the table while he does this. It just watches intently, ears perked and nose twitching slightly.

When Gabe walks up to the dog it ducks its head and steps back. Gabe hums reassuringly and makes his movements slow and deliberate.  He tries to get to the wound, but the dog keeps moving trying to keep its injured leg away from the prying hands.

“sit” Gabe commands, and the dog immediately does so, taking Gabe slightly off guard. He did not expect the mistreated thing to be trained in any way, so that is actually a slight improvement on the situation. He does not even have to make a gesture for the dog to take the down command.

Gabe slowly wipes off the blood from the matted fur revealing the wound underneath.  By the looks of it, it is a bullet graze. One that most likely needs stiches but nothing that needs surgery.  There is a large scab covering the majority of the wound, and while Gabe has the training to stich something like this, he really did not want to traumatize the dog any more then he already has. So instead he finishes cleaning the wound as best as he can and wraps it in gauze.

“okay you can get down now” Gabe says to the dog who happily jumps off of the table. It still heavily limps as it walks but it does not seem as uncomfortable as before. The dog quickly finds the small rug that lays in the middle of the room and gets comfortable on it; circling twice before laying down with a deep sigh.

It watches intently as Gabe moves around the room, never taking its eyes off of him as Gabe does some paperwork, and scowls through the nearest emergency vet clinics online.   Gabe does his best just to ignore the dog trying to give it is space after the trying day; really only interacting with it by giving it water and attempting to pet it twice. When he does attempt to touch the dog, the small growls he receives is enough for him to know to back off. The dog does happily take the water Gabe offers though, and also goes after anything small enough to fit in its mouth that Gabe drops. Luckily it gets a few crumbs that fall out of Gabe’s pocket when he changes and a small scrap of paper that landed near it. It isn’t enough to hurt the dog but it was enough to let Gabe know how desperate the dog is for sustenance.

A couple of hours later Swan and Janson knock on Gabe’s door. Apparently, someone found a mostly used bag of dog food at the compound and Janson was able to snag it before someone through it out. When Gabe opened the door to talk to the two he could distinctly hear the dog growl behind him, again it was just a warning, and Gabe got the message loud and clear ‘no more people’ the dog seemed to say. Even if it was his rescuers.

When Gabe started digging out a bowl for the dog food, the thought crossed his mind _if these people had food for the dog why is it half-starved?_ But he kind of figured it out when he placed the bowl in front of the dog. It gave the bowl a slight sniff before turning its head away, looking almost disgusted at the prospect. Surely a dog that is willing to eat paper should be willing to eat actual dog food, but instead the dog just laid next to the full bowl unwilling to even look at it.

Gabe leaves the bowl on the floor, but the dog does not touch it for the rest of the night, but it does perk up when another person knocks at the door. Gabe messaged the mess to deliver his own meal to his room earlier, because he had work to do in it, and it is just arriving now. The meal consists of a mystery meat Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and green beans. It smells a lot better than it looks or tastes, but it is eatable.

As Gabe walks back over to the desk he sees the dog perk up more, and even as he sits the dog staggers to a standing position.  He doesn’t look up, but Gabe can see the dog trying to sneak up to the table out of the corner of his eye. Before long the dog is at the other side of the table, long strings of drool falling from his mouth to the floor.

After a few bites Gabe sighs and says, “did no one teach you it is rude to beg?”

The dog gives a few good tail wags at the interaction. Then boofs slightly when Gabe stands up holding his plate. Gabe chuckles as he places the plate on the floor for the dog, and without thinking he runs his hands over the dog’s fur a couple of times as well. Afterwards he realizes that the dog did not react to his touch witch is a great improvement. The dog seems to be adjusting well, maybe it can stay if it keeps this level of progression up.

“we’ll need to think of a name for you” Gabe thinks out loud “i’ll think of a few then let the guys vote on it. Sound good to you?”

The dog looks up to Gabe and licks its lips and wags its tail a little bit. Gabe sits forward in his seat and says “how 'bout… Victor, or Tex. You kind of look like a Tex. What about Shaun that’s a good name, not really a good one for a dog”

It is a little past midnight by the time Gabe feels good enough with his work to go to bed. Having finished the majority of his paperwork and has a list of possible names for the dog. He felt more accomplished with his work today then he has felt in a long time, and with everything that happened during the day he finds himself easily falling asleep.

 “where am I” a voice groans softly from somewhere in Gabe’s room waking him immediately. He does not know what time it is but it is either very early or very late due to it being pitch black in his room.

When he flies out of his bed and turns the lights on he does not know what he is seeing in front of him.

It’s a kid, and his dog is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote both of these chapters in one session so I expect for them to be awful in the morning, so if you're reading this when I first posted it I'm sorry, and I'll edit it in the morning.  
> as always thank you for reading my work if you want to say hi come to my Tumblr and say hi thedegu.tumblr.com or if for some reason you really like my stuff maybe buy me a tea? at ko-fi.com/D1D3894A if ya would like. 
> 
> anyway, thank you for reading my work, doubly thank you if you leave kudos and triple thank you if you comment! all of these things mean the world to me and I love to see them! thank a lot and I will probably see you tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a quick note for those who might be triggered by physical harm. (kind of spoiler but is an important note), i do play up the possibility of torture and things like that in this chapter, but nothing happens it is a fake out. I just wanted to amp up the tension for the chapter, and i do understand that that sort of thing might trigger or hurt some people out there. I do want people to read this, obviously, and I don't want people not reading this because they think something bad is going to happen to a child, I just wanted to let you know now that nothing happens to Jesse that I haven't tagged.  
> Also, some of you might not like how I've portrayed Reyes in this chapter (which I totally get) but you have to understand that he runs the black ops division of overwatch and he has a job to do. I love squishy uncle Gabe as much as the next guy (look at most of my other works with Reyes in them) and would love to have him taking Jesse under his wing as soon as he sees him, but I just don't think it's realistic for him to trust McCree as soon as he sees him (no matter how young McCree is in the fic)  
> Alright warnings/ rant over

“How did you get into my room?” Gabriel asks for what feels like the hundredth time. He is standing in an interrogation room, ready to punch something, or someone. The kid he is interrogating (and wants to punch) just sits there in with fire in his eyes, mouth sealed. The kid looks young, maybe mid-teens, but the obvious signs of malnutrition and a hard life makes it hard to tell. The kid is clothed in a set of things the team just found lying around at camp, a worn t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. because of the state he was in when Gabe found him. The kid never flinches under the pressure and hadn’t spoken a word since Gabriel pinned him to the ground and put the pair of handcuffs around his scrawny wrists.

“what about a name?” Gabe demands, and the kid stares at his face unchanging “age? Anything… Do you want to go to max for the rest of your life kid? ‘Cus that will happen if you don’t cooperate.”

“what difference does it make” the kid finally speaks. His voice is harsh but young, and the gravel over the southern draw makes his words sound forced “I tell you, or I don’t, I get sent either way. Less chance of me getting shanked if I don’t talk. So, what would you do in my situation Mr. Overwatch man”

Gabriel looks at the kid now. Who just looks down to his chained hands and the to large tattoo on his forearm. He was obviously deep into Deadlock, but Reyes isn’t one hundred percent sure how far a teen could be in the gang with how young he is. He did not want to think about what made the kid join the gang at such a young age. He knew that Deadlock took in teens off of the street, but by the look of the kid he was in there for quite some time.

 The kid is smart as well, and most likely right about being better off keeping his mouth shut. He most likely would be safer in the prisons if he did. Even though Gabe knew what these people did he couldn’t help but let a small amount of guilt build up in his stomach as he thinks about the possible repercussions of sending him off. But he could not let that get to him right now, he needed answers.

“does Deadlock have cloaking tech” Gabriel asks, the kid just scoffs and rolls his shoulders.

Gabriel knows ways to get people to crack but hate using them on people three times the age of the kid in front of him. _One last try_ he thinks, knowing full well that he can and will do those things to the kid if he needs to, _then he gives me no choice._

Gabe straitens out and looks at the kid again. Hoping that a smaller question might get him to start talking “okay kid, at least tell me where the dog went.”

The kid looks up to Gabriel, looking completely lost. Gabriel sighs and says in an exasperated voice “you know the German Shepard. Kind of hard to miss, he wasn’t there when I found you”

The kid’s face contorts harshly, going from confusion, to shock, to a face somewhere between fear and hysteria. Then the kid starts laughing, but not like he heard a joke, it is the laugh of defeat, Almost hysterical. The kid puts his head on the cold steel table shoulders heaving as his laughter dies out.

It takes a moment but when the kid finally looks up to Gabriel, Gabe can see the slightest amount of wetness around his eyes. The kid says under his breath “well ain’t that just great!”

“look kid I can’t help you if you don’t help me” Gabriel says, patience wearing thin. “so start giving me straight answers”

“no one can do jack shit fer me” the kid says “that boat sailed a long time ago”

“what if I can get you in a lower security prison with protection” Gabriel offers.

The kid just looks at Gabriel dumbly, then smirks “unless ya put me in one of yer Antarctic bases there’s always gonna be Deadlock up my ass. Lo siento, pero no hay trato.”

Gabriel is ready to lay into the kid when his earpiece crackles to life. He glances over to the one-way mirror as he hears his team talk on the other side “hay boss, one of the guys wants to talk to you about the kid.  We’ve also dug some stuff up if you want to see it.”

Gabriel nods and heads out without a word. He can hear the kid shift beind him but neither says anything.  Gabe makes a b-line for the observation room. When he heads in Gabe finds the tech and Janson standing there, Janson is looking into the interrogation room eyebrow furrowed.

“what do you have?” Reyes asks.

“well we got facial rec’” the tech says “record at least a mile long.”

“kid have a name?”

“yes, Jesse McCree.” The tech sighs “seventeen, orphaned during the omnic crisis at age four. Bounced from foster home to foster home for the next seven years, always a complaint about attitude or destruction of property. Reported missing from his last family after almost a week of absence from the home. Showed up with Deadlock not too long afterwards. Mostly petty crimes; burglary, shoplifting, evaiding custody, until recently.”

“let me guess, it started last year” Gabe says thinking out loud. Sixteen is a big birthday for Deadlock, it’s when the kids become men. When they start killing.

“yes, he is a full Deadlock member to put it lightly” the tech says, obviously just as disgusted with the situation as Gabriel felt “but that is not all of it. I found some videos of the kid during a turf war”

The tech pulls up a grainy video from what looks to be of an open street.  The video looks to be taken from a ATM or something at eyelevel. Gabriel sees McCree run by the camera holding a small gun in his hand. He is by himself as he stops in the street but is obviously looking at something off camera. He raises his gun and the light around him seems to change. He almost glows in the midday sun, and in a split second he fires the gun in his hands. The video doesn’t have any sound, so it is hard to tell how many shots the kid pumps out in the small amount of time he is firing. McCree turns to run and for the split second he is facing the camera, Reyes can see the blood pouring from his eyes.

“there were six bodies found at the scene” the tech says “all with single shots perfectly centered in their foreheads”  
            “so, the kid has good aim” Gabe says trying to dismiss the thoughts.

“no, I mean centered” the tech says while pulling up another file “as in the corner did the math and all of the shots were perfectly centered in their foreheads. Like almost pirfectly”

“so what are you saying?” Gabriel asks with the slightest bit of sarcasm “kid have some sort of superpower?”

The tech shifts slightly looking uncomfortable. They look over to Janson who hasn’t taken his eyes off of the kid since Reyes entered the room. Gabe walks up to his solder and breaks him from his trance.

“did he have any injuries?” Janson asks. Reyes looks at him skeptically and wracks his brain. He didn’t see any injuries on the kid when he found him. actually thinking about it the kid looked strangely good for a kid in his situation. No burses or open wounds that come in living in such a hostile environment. Gabriela shakes his head and looks to Janson with concern.

Janson sighs, makes eye contact and says “I shot him. Just a tagged him on the leg but it was a definite hit. He fell like a bag of bricks, one of his buddies covered him so he could limp off, but I defiantly shot him”

Gabriel knew Janson. He’s an ass for sure but he doesn’t lie about things like this, and the thought about what this kid may have in his bloodstream made Gabriel’s heart race.  The thought obviously passed through the minds of the other two as well as they glanced from person to person.

“did the team find any of the drugs at the compound?” Gabriel asks.

“nothing labeled” the tech says, “but there were plenty of things we are getting tested right now.”

“if Deadlock got their hands on something from SEP …” Gabriel thinks out loud “even an impure version, changes everything.”

 “y’all coming back” McCree says shouting over the speaker “got to piss like a racehorse, so if ya don’t mind…”

Gabe turns to his men and says in a low tone “leave, turn off the cameras and leave. I will tell you when to come back.”

Janson and the tech know, everyone knows, but that doesn’t make it any easier. The two look to each other nervously before quickly packing there things up and shutting down all of the recording devices. The tension in the air is palpable as the three head out the door,each going in a separate direction.

Gabriel takes a moment in the quiet to center himself before heading back to the interrogation room. McCree is still sitting there when Gabe enters, but his smug look changes to concern quickly.

“I'm going to give you one last chance kid,” Gabriel says with a blank expression, not wanting to show his hand. “no deals, no debates. You either give me the information I need, or I start breaking fingers.”  
            “you ain’t going to do shit” McCree says but the slight crack in his voice betrays his calm demeanor “Overwatch is too goodie-two-shoes to do anything like that.”  
            “I’m not with Overwatch” Gabriel says plainly “now where did Deadlock get the drugs”

“which ones” McCree says almost smugly.

“does the term SEP sound familiar to you”

“not really… maybe read something about it in a paper a while ago, don’t sound too familiar.”

“did Deadlock ever give you anything?”

“again… gotta be more specific buddy”

“transfusions, large amounts of drugs over a long period of time”  
            “the hard stuff was never really my thing” McCree says leaning back in his chair as much as he can “tobacco and booze are fine, anything more can’t do my job.”

“they ever force any drugs on you” Reyes says while walking close to McCree “anything stolen?”

“everything we had was stolen” McCree says “and ya know that we were more for running weapons then drugs. Yer smart enough to know that.”

“what about drugs that make weapons” Gabriel states more than questions.

“I have no idea what you're talking about Mr. Overwatch”

“one of my men shot you yesterday. And you aren’t injured” Reyes says stepping into McCree’s space “and we found the video of you taking out six men with six shots in under two seconds. Regular humans can’t do that, now tell me where Deadlock got the SEP.”

“I told you, I don’t do-“Gabriel breaks McCree off as he grabs the kid’s right hand and shouts “one last time McCree, then you aren’t shooting ever again”

“I ain’t lying!” McCree says trying to push away from Gabriel “we don’t have anything like that! it’s just me!”

Gabriel looks up to McCree now, and the kid’s face has changed, sure he looks terrified but it isn’t just his expression. His features have chainged, Not in a way Gabriel could easealy describe. It looks as if the bone structure under his skin has shifted slightly. Not enough to be able to determine what is happening but enough to send the kid deep into the uncanny valley. Gabe then looks back down to McCree’s hands which have also changed. The change is more apparent in the hands though, with the fingernails growing longer, thickening and darkening.

Gabriel lets go of McCree’s hand and steps back, blinking a few times, and the kid is back to normal. Face the same as before and hands no longer changing. He looks up to Gabe then down to his hands and fidgets slightly.

“yer right,” McCree says defeated “I ain’t a normal human.”

“have you gone through SEP kid?” Gabriel says finally just asking outright “what did those gangsters do to you?”  
            “they didn’t do anything,” McCree says with a shrug “I was born like this. I think it came from my ma’ side, but I can’t remember for sure.”

Gabe looks at McCree for a long moment trying to understand what the kid had just said.  McCree shifts in the chair and looks up to Gabriel.  he gives a slight smirk and nods for some reason, as if confirming something in his head.

“if ya take the handcuffs off…” McCree trails off for a moment, but when Gabe doesn’t interrupt him he continues “if ya take the hands cuffs off, I can show you.  If you promise me to do everything to keep me safe when this is over… I can show you.”

Gabe can see how hard the kid is trying, and he wants to say yes. On the other hand, there is no way he can use whatever the kid is about to says in court, due to the lack of video, but he has to take the chance while he has it.

“yes…” the lie is easy one he has said before a thousand times “I will do everything in my power”

The kid nods and Gabriel presses his thumb to the scanner on the cuffs. The electronics beep then the cuffs click and drop. McCree rubs his wrists and looks sheepishly to Gabriel, he looks so young in that moment, almost trusting but in the same way animals do when they are abused. He stands, moving slowly and deliberately. Keeping his hands in front of his body and raised. He’s smart for doing so, Gabe is ready to take him down if he needs to and McCree knows it.

Suddenly McCree’s face starts to change like it did before, along with his fingers and hands. He grunts as his body changes, Gabriel can hear the clothing shift as McCree’s body contorts and shifts.

McCree’s body shrinks, no that isn’t the right word, shortens, but elongates at the same time. his face stretches, and his legs reduce and deform, his body hair lengthens and more of it spurts out over every inch of his body. Another pained grunt as his hands, no, paws hit the ground. mixed the tick-tack sound of his newly formed claws tapping against the concrete floor.

The shift, at most, takes two minutes, but it feels like hours watching the kid change into the thing before him.  The dog from Deadlock, he has the same rust-colored fur and wolf-like features. Of Couse Gabriel now knows that it isn’t a dog or a wolf, it is Jesse mccree.

 Gabe reaches down to make sure that McCree is really there and he shifts backwards slightly but does not run. Gabe simply lightly pinches one of his pointed ears between his thumb and fingers, feeling the soft fur between them. McCree lets out a slight huff and steps back from Gabriel. He shakes now ill-fitting clothing moving uncomfortably across his fur. He only stays fully transformed for a few minutes. just enough time for the reality of the situation to set in for Gabriel, and like before it only takes a couple of minutes for him to change back.

The kid looks exhausted and staggers back to the chair before nearly collapsing into it. he has a thin sheen of sweat over his brow, but he shivers like he is locked in a freezer. He looks like he has the flu as he pants in his seat trying to steady his breathing.

“its hard enough shifting once” McCree says after he catches his breath “but twice in one day, without rest… that’s enough to kill a man”

The way McCree says the words it sounds like he is quoting someone, and Gabriel isn’t sure what to do or say. McCree looks up to him and shrugs while saying “so that’s my big secret. How I healed, n’ might have something to do with my aim, but I’m not sure.”

“how-?” is all Gabriel can get out.

“like I said, think I got it from my ma’ but I'm not sure”

“why did you show me this”

“because you were about to break my fingers, n’ I heard you send away your other people”

“you heard that?”

“yep, n’ I know you know everything about me” McCree says with a shrug “s’ why I talked, no use hiding something you already know”

“so, you heard the conversation through the soundproof walls?”

“more through the window, but yes. guess you could say I have super powers” McCree says with a smirk. He shutters violently and holds his head in his hands waiting for the wave of pain to pass “don’t happen to have any Advil on ya by any chance? Shifting ain’t exactly comfortable”

“I don’t have any on me right now,” Gabe says, gears grinding in his mind.  “but I do have a new offer”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess what the deal is? As always thanks for reading my work this was a great break from my usual series and it was written on a whim, I really didn't have much planned out for it and just kind of flew by the seat of my pants for this one. Like I sad in the last two chapters I wrote them in a single writing session, and I was almost delirious while writing them. Thankfully this final part I was more myself while writing and the previous two chapters actually turned out better than I thought they did when I wrote them.  
> as always thank you so so much for reading, giving kudos and commenting it really means the world to me!
> 
> Feel free to come by my Tumblr and say hi (thedegu.tumblr.com), or if you're feeling super generous maybe buy me a tea (https://ko-fi.com/D1D3894A)? Either way, just thank you for reading my work, and I'll talk to you whenever i post next time.


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